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Institute for Christian Teaching Education Department of Seventh-day Adventists

The Administrator's Personal Relations in a Christian School As a Model for Faith and Learning

By K. Jesurathanam

Assoc. Education Director Southern Asia Division of SDA

Hosur, India

Prepared for the Faith and learning Seminar

Held in Hosur May, 1990

088 - 90 Institute for Christian Teaching 12501 Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring Md 20904, USA

A. Purpose:

44 INTRODUCTION

The chief purpose of this paper is to point out an effective

approach to leadership in our educational institutions so

that the aims of our educational programs in Faith and

Learning process are better achieved.

B. Mission of an Adventist School:

The aim of an Adventist school is more than imparting

knowledge of the subject matter. It is to impart such an

education which is "to restore in man the image of his

Maker, to bring him ~ack to the perfection in which he was

created, to promote the development of body, mind and soul

that the divine purpose in his creation might be realized."

(Education p.l5, 16). In other words, a concerted effort is

made in our schools to impart "true education" to a "total

man". The emphasis is on individuals and.their maturity.

But how to see that this noble mission is fulfilled?

The Principal is to coordinate the various activities of the

school. Ellen White wrote "Secure a stropg man to stand as

principal of your school, a man whose physjcal strength will

support him in doing a thorough work as a disciplinarian; a

man who is qualified to train the students in habits of

order, neatness and industry ... (Counsel to Teachers p.213,

214). When Moses selected men to lead Israel he said,

11 Search out faithful men, righteous men, qualified men ...

(Ex.18:21).

2

In I Timothy 3, Paul tells Timothy to find qualified

men to lead the church. The Old Testament principle of

choosing qualified individuals to lead is repeated in the

New Testament.

A "strong" administrator, who has the ability to get

things done through others, should be appointed. In other

words, a strong administrator must have a knowledge of human

nature and ability to guide his fellow teachers and to

"train the students in the habits of order, neatness, and

industry." (E G White. Testimonies Vol. 5 p. 422, 423)

C. Selection Criteria of School Administrators:

It is interesting to survey some of the criteria

applied in the selection of administrators for our

educational institutions. I have been observing how some

administrators were selecte~ in the past and even now. I

shall list my observations for discussion and each reader

can verify them against his own observation and experience.

Some educational administrators are chosen based on the

"senior-teacher-able-administrator" theory.

the teaching profession does not mean

automatically acquired leadership ability.

Seniority in

that one has

It is true that

by long innings as a successful teacher, one can be a good

administrator, possibly because of his observation of or

association in decision-making.

45 3

The second approach in appointing a school

administrator is the "acquired degrees-required posts"

theory. This theory has been associated with another method

which apparently has been the "right-connections" concept.

The selection of a school administrator is based on not

"what you know but whom you know".

The third selection method which unfortunately seems to

be gaining some prominence these days is the "sons-of-the

soil" theory. Needless to say that suitability and

efficiency are sacrificed at the altar of this theory in our

country.

Lastly, the "move-over" theory has been used in some

cases for selecting administrators. At some stage when it

becomes necessary to move a person out of one place, he is

appointed principal; it is a way of. appeasing a trouble-

maker. Because of the above approach in selecting school

administrators, we are facing a number of problems.

D. School Problems:

We are not able to introduce the ±faith and· learning'

process in our schools because some of the school

administrators have not studied in Adventist Schools. Some

of them have not received Adventist-oriented education.

They were appointed as school admiriistrators because they

have a degree which is necessary in government recognized

schools. This situation mostly exists in our day schools.

47 4

The integration of ~aith and learning' process is not so

possible in the day schools because the administrators have

not had a thorough Adventist education. But in the boarding

schools it is possible to introduce the ~aith and learning'

process because most of the boarding school principals

received Adventist-oriented education.

The second problem that our schools are facing is in

selection of members of the faculty. Thfrty-three percent

of staff in the day schools have no Adventist background.

Therefore, they are not able to give the necessary guidance

to the students in implementing the •faith and learning•

process.

The third problem that we are facing in our schools is

admission of non-Adventists. The boarding school situation

is also becoming bad as we have at least 20-50% non­

Adventist students studying in the boarding schools.

At present our day schools are dominated by non-SDA

students, whose influence seems to dominate the Adventist

influence of our children. Hence, the Christian character

of Adventist children should be such that they can exert

greater influence on the non-Adventist students. In order

to achieve this influence the Christian (Adventist) home and

the church must play a greater role in developing the

character of our children to equip them to be missionaries

in the school. The school administrators must provide an

opportunity for the non-adventist students to develop a

48 5

Christian character by introducing a "faith and learning"

program. The administrator can recruit more Adventist

staff, and through their influence the non-Adventist

students can imbibe Christian character. This is the

challenge facing our educational institutions • • The integration of faith and learning• must be a very

personal thing. No one can experience or practice it for

another. This is a great challenge to educational

administrators and teachers to bring about some change in

implementing the ' faith and learning• process in Adventist

schools. In order to achieve this goal the school

administrators must possess a very good relationship with

the staff and the students.

E. Personal Relations of a School Administrator:

This situation deals with the relevance of a ±human

relations' approach to school administration. It appears

that administration in Christian schools involves basically

the stewardship of talents of people entrusted to the

leaders. The administrator bears a solemn responsibility in

fostering and nurturing human talents. Often administrators

take good care· and use all modern techniques of budgetary

c o n t r o 1 i n t h e man age men t of f i nan c e s a n d other i mm ova b 1 e

objects, but when it comes to the handling of human

resources--staff and students in the school--they manifest

the least concern. Ellen White counselled: · .. They are as

49 6

accountable to God for their capital of physical strength as

is the rich man for his capital of money." (Counsels on

Stewardship. p.l21).

The Hawthrone studies conducted by Elton Mayo and his

associates at Harvard University stated the success of the

. human relations movement depends on a leader who:

(1) concerns himself with the feelings and attitudes of his

men, (2) encourages members to think and work so that they

will be self-motivated to perform their best, and (3)

develops an atmosphere which will permit them to contribute

most creatively.

In other words, the school administrator, following the

human relations approach, understands the feelings and

attitudes of his fellow teachers and the students in the

schoo 1. He encourages them to be thinkers and problem-

solvers, not mere reflectors of his thoug~ts, so that they

will be self-motivated to do their best. He develops an

a t m o s p he r e i n t h e i n s t i t u t i on w h i c h w i 1 1 p e rm i t them to

contribute most creatively to achieve the ideals of the

school. As the leader is, so is the institution. It could

be said, that the institution is the shadow of its leader.

The following are some of the qualities of an

administrator:

1. The administrator is to lead, but not to drive. A good

leader gets his group moving so smoothly towards its goal

that it continues to move even when he is absent. The

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administrator should remember that the teachers and students

in his institution are not pieces of equipment. The teacher

and students are not placed in the school at his disposal.

They are human beings with their hopes, fears, and problems,

and a heavy price has been paid for them by the Saviour. It

was said, of a certain school administrator that a little

curse or an adverse remark made about him by one of his

teachers was sufficient to get that teacher transferred from

his school. It was apparently made known that he also did

similar things with the students.

2. Some administrators feel that they are superior and

expect others to serve them. If they feel that they are

better than others, they can't hope to understand the group

and they cannot make them work with him. The administrator

should establish close contact with his staff and students.

Emerson once wrote to his daughter that he cared little for

the name of the school she attended, but he cared much for

the teachers and administrators with whom she studied. He

understood that the school is a living agency, a place of

life where teachers live. How much contact does the

administrator have with his students and staff? Is he

accessible to them for offering guidance, counsel to reach

their goals or, is his programme such that he is out most of

the time?

3. Shouldn't an administrator let his teachers and

students feel important in the school programme?

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No man can do a good job if he does not respect himself in

that job. He cannot be interested in it if he does not feel

it is worth doing. We come across some administrators who

treat others with scant respect. The administrator has no

right to demand, or even expect from others what he is not

willing to accord to them. For example, if he knows that

one of his workers has a sick son, he should make it a

point, to enquire about him or if one of his men is ill in

the hospital, a visit will make all the difference. If he

receives a leave application from a teacher he must realize

how much this leave application means to the teacher who is

making it. All these things are possible provided that the

leader has sympathetic feelings which compel him to place

himself in another's stead.

4. Should the administrator let people feel successful?

The administrator in our institution assumes the role

of a monitor. The monitor is some one who is committed to

the success of others. He or she is at once a coach, a door

operator, and an encourager. He does not feel jealous of

other's success and discourage him. He does not place a

hurdle in his progress by misinterpreting his noteworthy

performance by saying, "so and so does things successfully

always with one goal in mind--that is to get the chair.••

Barnabas took Paul and introduced him to the apostles

because he saw in him a man with various gifts. The true

leader uses his higher posi'tion to help some one else move

52

up even if they "pass" him.

9

He w i 11 do much h a rm i f he

makes things miserable for others compelling them to

eventually leave the institution. The institutions need a

Barnabas so that there can be a ~aul. Let us remember that

one cannot live without the other.

5. Does the administrator compliment a teacher or a

student who has done an unusually good job?

A pat on the back seems to motivate others. For

example, a young executive worked six months to work out

details and made excellent arrangements for the conference.

Delegates from all over the world came and attended the

conference. It went off very well, and all the delegates

who came to the conference felt happy and they were well

p 1 e a s e d • 0 n the 1 as t even i n g of the conference the young

executive was in a dark corner. He was alone taking a

drink. An elderly gentleman saw this young executive and

asked him why he was not joining the final evening's good

programme. He knew the kind of treatment the director had

shown. No one said "thanks". How simple it is to say

"thanks", yet how much it means when spoken· in sincerity.

People are motivated by achievement and by recognition of

their efforts. The sense of success is one of the best

tonics to keep a man happy and effective in his job. But to

get this sense of success, he must be told by leaders that

he has done well. He can't always assess his results for

53 10

himself. One is inclined to criticize and find fault--slow

to appreciate, but quick to criticize.

6. Do you explain yourself fully?

You are dealing with people and not machines. As an

administrator, you need to communicate your goals and ideals

to people so that they will be provided a satisfactory

stimulus to their urges. The teachers and students look to

you for setting pace to activities. Only when they are

fully informed on issues, do they actively participate in

the programme. Students to some extent do not support even

a good program unless they are given full explanation and

motives. Ellen White wrote: "Teachers and principal should

work together as brethren. They should consult

together .•• that all their decisions in reference to the

school may be such as will be approved of God". (Counsels

to Parents, Teachers and Students, p. 87).

7. Do you listen to grievances?

It is wise to remember that no matter how small or

unreasonable a grievance may seem to you, it is important

and entirely reasonable to the students making.the complaint

about it. Examples are, food in the cafeteria, a lack of

water in hostels, or a rough treatment by a staff member.

If it were not significant he would not be making it. By

refusing to listen, you run the risk of possibly a hunger

strike on the campus, or discussion within the faculty,

breaking of a principal's house, and you weaken your stature

54 11

as a leader. An administrator should not give the

impression that he picks on a student or a memeber of the

staff because he voiced his grievance. It is not right

leadership either to delay looking into a grievance.

"Justice delayed is justice denied."

8. Do you criticize in private?

To humiliate a teacher or student by criticizing him before

the group gains you nothing. On the contrary, it may

aggravate the problem and probably lead to a confrontation.

Inspiration has this admonition to the administrators.

"Cultivate the habit of speaking well of others. Dwell upon

the good qualities of those with whom you associate, and see

as little as possible of their errors and failure."

(Ministry of Healing, p. 492).

9. What do you speak about a student who made mistake in

the past but has turned a new leaf since then?

Christian educators will remember that they need God's

forgiveness. The student's dignity should be respected.

You may say something sweet or not say anything at all to

the student, but write a note to his parents.

10. As the administrator of a Christian institution, do you

have a living relationship with your God and fellowmen?

A good leader practicing the human relations approach

will establish and maintain a living relationship with God

and himself and his fellowmen. The cross of Christ has two

beams: one vertical, and the other horizontal. A Christian

55 12

school administrator will do well to realise that he needs a

living relation.ship both vertically, between God and himself

on one hand, and horizontally, between himself and his

fellow teachers and students. The New Testament teaches

this fundamental principle--love God and your fellow men.

This is the substance of the human relations approach and

the Golden Rule. The school administrator is to build in his

fellow workers the character of God by close interpersonal

relations which are wholesome.

Dr. S.N. Mukerji, in his book, 11 Secondary School

Administration .. states that the success of the school

depends on the types of administrators. There are two types

of school administrators--autocratic and democratic. In the

first type of administrator, the principal serves as a type

of dictator in his school. He does not confer with his

staff. He assumes that his function is to command and that

the duty of the staff is to obey. "It is not theirs to

rea son why , but the i r s to do a n d d i e • " He de term i n e s the

entire policy of the school, and remains aloof from active

group participation except while demonstrating his

dictatorial behaviour.

The next type of administrator is the principal who

conceives it his d~ty to act as a leader among his co­

wcrkers and not as a dictator. He desires to be known as a

11 brother" to his staff rather than as their "boss". All

56 13

policies of the school are evolved through group

discussion,encouraged and drawn out by him.

An institution, where the dignity and worth of the

individual is not fully recognized, cannot thrive properly.

The duty of the principal is to know each and every member

of his staff very thoroughly, his strength and his weakness,

his merits and his limitations. Kipling•s Subaltern in the

"Brushwood Bay" is appropriate here: "Get to know your men,

and they•11 follow you any where. That • s all you want.

Know your men". The success of the school depends in a

large measure upon the intimacy that is estaolished between

the principal and his staff.

F The Qualities of a Christian Leader:

It is quite interesting to note how different authors

perceive leadership qualities. Christian leaders should

have a fair knowledge of how different people view

leadership. What qualities must a dynamic Christian leader

possess to make a Christian organization all that it should

be from the Christian point of view and yet make it a

productive organization? Ellen G White provides the

following guidelines:

1. The Christian leader must be in touch with God. "They

should pursue a course of life that will honor their

creator, and ennoble themselves, and bless their fellow

men. (Ellen G White, Testimonies Vol. 5, p. 422, 423).

57 14

2. He will be a man of prayer. God is looking for leaders

who will come to Him for guidance through prayer--not formal

prayer, but a real opening of the heart to God as to a

friend. Christian leadership is prayerful leadership.

3. The Christian leader looks to Jesus. Satan will assail

him with temptations of all kinds; he needs to look to Jesus •

for power. (White Manuscript p. 140. 1902).

4. The Christian leader will be kind. Unlike Thorndike•s

ccncept of a weak leader who is sentimental, he will be a

man who is sensitive and compassionate toward the suffering

of ~ther men, with less chance of climbing to managerial

success. A Christian leader will have the power of

kindness. Ellen G. White had a very special concern for the

youth of the church. She said, "God holds t~~ managers of

his institutions responsible to treat the youth in the

effiploy of these institutions with cou~tes), respect and

kindness."

5. The Christian leader will exhibit loyalty. Satan is

wcrking hard to take away from the fold those who are

inclined toward independent ju~sement. There must be

loyalty to the church and toward its established principles.

' (Ellen White, Gospel Workers' p. 443, 444).

6. A Christian leader must be faithful. In Testimonies,

Vol. 2, p. 467, 468, Ellen White s~~gests the great need for

fa;thful leaders.

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7. Humility is an important characteristic of a Christian

leader. Position does not give him holiness. He needs

dependence on God because ~f his p~sition and

responsibility. ( Ellen White. Prophets and Kings. p.30).

8. Integrity is a must for the Christian leader. In a

world where moral fiber of nations is at the breaking point,

God is earnestly seeking men of integrity to take up

leadership positions. Ellen White implores that integrity

must be preserved at all costs.

9. Christian leadership also demands ability. There is

need of men who have cool heads and sound sense. Here again

Ellen White offers a number of qualities of a good leader:

(1) God's cause is in need of men and women who will

make patient and thorough investigation of the

needs;

(2) Those who possess warm and kind hearts, cool

heads, sound sense, and unbiased judgement;

(3) Those who are sanctified by the Spirit of God, and

can fearlessly say, 'No' or 'Yes' and 'Amen' to

propositions;

(4) Those who have strong convictions, clear

understanding, and pure and sympathetic hearts;

(5) Those who have a large capacity for work;

(6) Those who practice the words: "All ye are

brethren";

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(7) Those who strive to uplift and restore the fallen

humanity. (White Manuscript 34, 1901)

10. Good Christian leaders will both maintain and promote

individuality. "Yes men" are not a strength to the cause of

God. (Wh;te letter 380, 1907) fully recognize the

essential dignity of every individual teacher. The

principal is helpful for assigning duties to his teachers

and for supervising their work.

CONCLUSION

The above discussion shows that the principal of a

school should fully recognize the essential dignity of every

individual teacher. The principal is helpful for assigning

duties to his teachers and for supervising their work.

There are examples of principals who are successful in

their administrative work. For example Mr.•x• has been the

principal of several schools. Whatever the schools he

served in, he worked hard and earned success. The financial

position of the school was made sound, the examination

results used to be high, but he would not last more than a

year or two in any school. In spite of his hard work, he

had always been accused of not "getting along" with the

staff and students. There are a number of examples we can

quote. These examples indicate to us that the school

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' administrator must not only have good academic

qualifications, but some thing more.

He must be able to understand the feelings and

attitudes of his fellow workers and students. Here the

emphasis is upon the attitudes, feelings, a~d the behaviour

of people. Of all the factors of administration with which

a ·leader deals, man is by far the most important. The

relationship between the leader and his man in the job is

spoken of as human relations. It involves understanding and

promoting interpersonal relations in the school, and this

will enable him to get along with the staff and students.

The Adventist administrator•s personal relations with

his staff and the students would enable him to run the

school in a manner tha~ will facilate the introduction of

"faith and learning" principle in his school. He should

change the present situations of our school setup in India

by appointing all Adventist teachers so that they can

implement the "faith and learning" process among Adventist

school children, as well as, non-Adventists who come to our

schools to acquire "true education".

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REFERENCE CITED

Education p. 15, 16 Counsels to Teachers, p. 213, 214 Exodus 18:21

1 Timothy 3 Ellen White, Testimonies Vol. 5 p. 422, 423

Counsels on Stewardship, p. 121

Counsels to Parents, Teachers and Students, p. 87

Ministry of Healing, p. 492

Or. S N Mukerji, Secondary School Administration, p. 10

White Manuscript 140, 1902 Ellen White in Gospel Workers, p. 443, 444 Ellen White, Testimonies Vol 2, p. 467, 468

Ellen White in Prophets and Kings, p.30

White Manuscript 34, 1901 White letter 380, 1907